Related Stories

The illness is probably caused by a norovirus - the group of viruses that circulate in the winter causing short-lived but intense bouts of vomiting and diarrhea. For most people, there's only one mode of treatment: drink lots of liquids to avoid dehydration and wait it out.

"Antibiotics don't do anything for it," Gemmell said.

Dr.
Sherlita Amler
, commissioner of health in Putnam County, N.Y., said her department started to hear about the illness around Christmas Day.

"We've had quite a number of cases," she said.

Dr. Gemmell said that noroviruses usually surface in winter and, much like influenza, have a definite cycle. It's not food related, and it's not the flu - the influenza virus causes fever and a hacking cough, but not gastrointestinal troubles.

Amler said doctors become concerned when the elderly or infants get infected with these viruses because the intense diarrhea and vomiting they bring on can cause serious dehydration. If someone infected with the bug stops urinating for several hours, it's probably time to seek medical help.

"We worry when people can't keep down liquids," Amler said. "These are often the people we see at emergency rooms."

The soundest medical advice doctors can give people to stop the spread of the virus is to frequently wash their hands in warm soapy water for at least 15 seconds.

But keeping your hands free of germs doesn't mean you won't get sick if you already are, it means the noroviruses won't spread from your hands to a familiar object that another person can touch.

In addition, the
Putnam County Health Department
recommends that people immediately wash any soiled clothing or linens in hot water and soap; use a bleach solution to clean and disinfect any contaminated household surfaces; and to carefully wash fruits and vegetables.

It also suggests that people should stay home while they're sick - plus a day or two to recuperate afterward - rather than go to work or school and spread the illness to others.

And be patient. Even in the face of what seems at the time like an imminent demise, this too shall pass.

"What we're seeing is the 24- to 48-hour variety of the virus,'' Gemmell said.